Monsters on the Wrist : Konstantin Chaykin's Whimsical Timepieces
An Introduction
There are watchmakers… and then there’s Konstantin Chaykin — a man who took the serious world of haute horlogerie and gave it googly eyes, a toothy grin, and a wicked sense of humor.
Based in Russia, Chaykin is one of the most imaginative independent watchmakers alive today. He’s the mastermind behind the Wristmons — short for "wrist monsters" — a playful and wildly creative series of watches that quite literally stare back at you. Each piece has its own personality, its own story, and above all, its own unique expression. Time-telling, in Chaykin’s world, is anything but boring.
But make no mistake — behind the laughter and cartoon faces lies serious mechanical genius. Chaykin describes his watches as “kinematic art objects with a direct emotional impact,” and it shows. His work earned him international recognition when he became the first Russian watchmaker to win a prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2018, taking home the Audacity Prize for his delightfully deranged Clown watch.
In this article, we dive into the wild world of Chaykin’s most expressive creations — from the iconic original Joker, to the flirtatious Harley Quinn, the spooky Dracula, the mythic Minotaur, the cheeky yellow Minions, and the sporty, football-loving Joker Soccer. Get ready to meet the watches that smile, wink, grow fangs, and never fail to surprise.
Joker – The Original Grinning Icon
The original Joker watch (2017) introduced the world to Chaykin’s smiling time display, with googly eyes for hours and minutes and a moonphase moon as a tongue. Launched at Baselworld in 2017, the Joker made waves as one of the most extraordinary debuts of the show, instantly captivating collectors with its irreverent charm. At a glance, the Joker’s dial looks like a cartoon face – and that’s entirely by design. The watch tells time through facial features: two subdials form the eyes, with shifting pupils indicating the hours (left eye) and minutes (right eye). When the moonphase is full, the Joker has a full-toothed grin; when it’s a new moon, the mouth is dark, giving the face a different mood. As time passes and the “eyes” roll around, the Joker’s expression constantly changes – it might look cross-eyed at 6:30, surprised at 12:45, or gleeful at 9:15. This watch was produced in a limited run of 99 pieces, and remarkably, all 99 sold out within days of its premiere. It was clear that Chaykin had struck a chord: here was a high-end mechanical watch that didn’t take itself too seriously, offering luxury with a big dose of levity.
Joker Harley Quinn – The Playful Supervillain
The Joker Harley Quinn brings a female supervillain’s flair to the Wristmons, with a cheeky heart tattoo and bright red smile. Five years after the original Joker watch debuted, Chaykin decided it was time to add a feminine touch to the Wristmons lineup. Enter the Joker Harley Quinn, introduced in 2022 as the first female “wrist-monster” in Chaykin’s collection. This model pays homage to Harley Quinn – the notorious comic book prankster and companion to Batman’s Joker – and it does so with audacious style and color. The dial still features the trademark Joker eyes and smile, but with a twist befitting Harley’s character. The two “eyes” (hour and minute subdials) are rimmed in turquoise and hot pink, an oddball combination that somehow works and immediately catches the eye. This two-tone makeup gives the watch a mischievous, almost flirty expression – as if Harley herself is winking at you. Around the eyes, Chaykin added puffy black eyelashes and a tiny black mask, evoking Harley Quinn’s jester-like domino mask. The lower half of the dial has a silver-white guilloché pattern, and the broad Joker grin is painted a gleaming red, resembling Harley’s signature red lipstick. The moonphase disk at 6 o’clock doubles as a smiling mouth, complete with a red-lipped grin – a charming touch that ties back to the Joker’s and Harley’s perpetual smiles.
Minotaur – The Mythological Marvel
The Minotaur by Konstantin Chaykin features a bull-like face with a bronze case and labyrinth motif on the dial. The Minotaur is a fascinating blend of mythology and watchmaking whimsy. Inspired by the half-bull, half-man of ancient legend, this Wristmon’s dial looks like a friendly bull’s face. The 42 mm case is cast in bronze, giving it the warm, aged look of a relic unearthed from King Minos’s labyrinth. Look closely at the dial and you’ll notice a maze-like guilloché pattern – a direct nod to the labyrinth home of the mythical Minotaur – carved around the “nose” of the creature. In place of the Joker’s usual moonphase smile, Chaykin devised a unique double-disk day-of-the-week display: two lettered windows peer out from the Minotaur’s nostrils, cleverly indicating the weekday. Chaykin released this model in early 2021 to celebrate the Year of the Ox, tying together the Chinese zodiac bull and the Greek Minotaur myth. Fittingly, it was a limited edition of just 8 pieces, making it as rare as it is imaginative. A supple leather strap and bull-horn-shaped lugs complete the theme, ensuring the Minotaur makes a bold, beastly statement on the wrist.
Minions – Banana Papoy
Beaming in bright banana-yellow, the Minions edition channels the joyful mischief of those little yellow troublemakers into a single watch face. Its two goggle-framed eyes (the hour and minute subdials) never quite look in the same direction, giving the watch a perpetually animated expression. A wide, toothy grin at the bottom doubles as a moonphase display, complete with bright white teeth to mirror a Minion’s cheerful smile. The whimsy continues with a denim-patterned strap accented by yellow stitching—a nod to the Minions’ trademark overalls. With its constantly shifting gaze and infectious grin, the Minions watch practically comes alive on the wrist—bursting with character and ready to brighten your day with its cartoonish charm.
Dracula – The Vampire with Fangs at Midnight
The Dracula Wristmon has a vampire’s face, complete with a fanged grin and a tuxedo-inspired strap. If Count Dracula wore a watch, he’d surely sport Chaykin’s Dracula Wristmon. This eerie-yet-charming timepiece takes the Joker’s goofy grin and gives it a vampiric twist. The dial indeed looks like a vampire’s face: two round eyes (for hours and minutes) stare out with a hypnotic gaze, and below them lies an exaggerated pale grin complete with pointy fangs. Chaykin actually engineered a special complication for this model – the “Dracula time” display – in which the fangs extend and retract to indicate the night hours. As midnight approaches, two sharp fangs gradually appear in the mouth; they reach full length around 1:00 AM, then slowly recede by about 3:40 AM, disappearing completely by dawn. It’s a brilliant theatrical touch: the watch literally “grows” fangs at night! The rest of the dial reinforces the vampire theme too. There’s a little red triangular nose and a black mustache-like detail above the grin, evoking classic Dracula imagery. At 6 o’clock, the moonphase disk doubles as Dracula’s tongue – blood-red, of course – lolling out in a ghoulish chuckle. The 42 mm case is made of black PVD-coated stainless steel, giving it a sleek, midnight-black finish that suits the theme (and helps prevent unwanted reflections, since vampires prefer the shadows). Even the strap is tongue-in-cheek: Chaykin offered a special black leather strap styled like Dracula’s tuxedo, complete with a tiny white bow tie and blood-red “lapel” accents near the lugs. Produced in a limited run of 13 pieces – a fittingly spooky number – the Dracula watch is both an impressive feat of engineering and a fun conversation piece. It’s a reminder that even high-end watches can have a little bite (pun intended) and a lot of personality.
Joker Soccer – The World Cup Comedian
The Joker Soccer edition, with soccer ball eyes and a goal net pattern on its strap, celebrates the beautiful game. For a watch that’s all fun and games (literally), look no further than the Joker Soccer. This special edition Wristmon was released during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and it scores a goal in design creativity. The familiar Joker face is decked out in football gear: its rolling eyes are each painted like a tiny soccer ball, complete with black-and-white pentagons and hexagons for the hour and minute subdials. The background of the dial is a vibrant swirly orange, inspired by Russian art (Chaykin even drew on a traditional Zhostovo folk pattern for the dial’s texture). Above the eyes, the arch-shaped eyebrow in gold is reminiscent of a goalkeeper’s outstretched arms or perhaps a stadium’s roof, adding to the sporty flair. At 6 o’clock, the usual Joker “lunar smile” is transformed into a moonphase display featuring a soccer ball. As the days pass, this little football appears to wax and wane against a black sky — as if the moon itself has caught soccer fever! The case is crafted from patinated bronze, giving the watch a rugged, trophy-like appeal (it’s the third Joker model to use bronze instead of steel or titanium). On the right side, the crown even resembles a tiny textured football. To top it off, the watch comes on a bright red leather strap with white stitching in the pattern of a soccer goal net, literally netting the theme together. Chaykin made only 11 pieces of this edition – one for each player on a football team – making it a true collectible for sports fans and watch enthusiasts alike. Whether you’re celebrating a victory or just the love of the game, this watch is all smiles (and maybe a wink) in horological form.
Conclusion – Why Collectors Love These Playful Masterpieces
Chaykin’s watches have cultivated a dedicated following of collectors and enthusiasts, and it’s easy to see why. In a world of look-alike luxury timepieces, the Wristmons stand out with personality and humor. They are technically impressive – featuring ingenious complications like moonphase mouths and day-of-week nostrils – yet they never lose their lighthearted touch. These pieces are conversation starters that can break the ice in any room of watch aficionados. They demonstrate that haute horlogerie doesn’t have to be staid or overly serious; it can be bold, irreverent, and joyful. In the end, Konstantin Chaykin’s most whimsical timepieces are beloved not just because they tell the time in a novel way, but because they remind us that watchmaking can be a playful adventure. Each tick of the Joker’s eyes or Dracula’s fangs is a tiny nod to the idea that creativity and passion are at the heart of horology – and that wearing a smile on your wrist is a truly timeless delight.
Sources: Konstantin Chaykin official descriptions and interviews; Quill & Pad’s Encyclopedia of Konstantin Chaykin’s Wristmons; Timekeepers Club (Harley Quinn release details); Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève archives.
Written & Edited by Nicolai Kauss